Speeches

Thank you so much. It’s good to be home. I will say a couple of things before I start. First off, Christina (Waters). I met her, I recall meeting her when she was in the hospital fighting for her life. She had gone through elementary school to Ariel Community Academy. Great student. Fantastic basketball player. (Inaudible). Was going in a couple of days to college to compete. Was at a church social and was shot there in the head. Don’t know why. Don’t know by whom.

In a speech at Burke High School in Boston, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussed the progress states and districts have seen in the last six years in partnership with the Department's signature programs and policies, including Race to the Top, School Improvement Grants and Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility.

In a speech at the National Press Club, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called on state and local governments to invest in schools instead of jails. It's about setting a different direction as a society, a different priorityone that says we believe in great teaching early in our kids' lives, rather than courts, jails and prisons later.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan laid out his vision for America’s higher education system of the future. Duncan noted that while more students are graduating college than ever before at our nation’s world-class colleges and universities, for far too many students, the nation’s higher education system isn’t delivering what they need and deserve.

Speaking from the perspective of a father of two young children, Secretary Arne Duncan described a set of educational rights that should belong to every family in America at the National PTA Convention in Charlotte, NC. These foundational family rights can unite everyone who works to ensure that students are prepared to thrive in school and in life. The set of rights follows the educational journey of a student—from access to quality preschool; to engagement in safe, well-resourced...

I'm so honored to be with you today, and to join in celebrating the class of 2015's success.

We're all living in a moment when so many aspects of our society and the world are in the midst of being reimagined, and redefined. Astounding changes have taken place since the year of this great university's founding1909from the end of Jim Crow segregation to the election of America's first black president.

Thank you, Dr. Peterson, for that very kind introductionand for your unwavering stewardship of this important institution. Both here and throughout your remarkable career, you have brought a visionary approach to an ever-changing educational landscape.

It's a real honor to be with you and everyone assembled today as we celebrate this momentous occasionespecially the members of the Georgia Tech Class of 2015! Congratulations to all of you!